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Lipid profiles before and after primal diet

06-25-2012, 07:58 AM

Could some readers post their actual lipid profile numbers before using "primal" diet and after 6 months or so after?

I'm in the medical field,but not a nutritionist or cardiovascular specialist. I agree with the theory of low carb diet. I've recently tweaked my diet by cutting out breads and pasta (easy) and adding egg yolks, bacon, more meat, macadamia nuts. I feel great, have lost fat and weight.

I have yet to check my lipid profile, which was previously good--its only been 2 months. I'm a bit worried that my LDL could go through the roof. This anxiety may reflect my bias from residual effects of years of of reading to avoid fats, cholesterol, etc. I would like to see solid lab evidence.

A note on the LDL. Also during this time period, I was taking Synthroid for hypothyroidism. I quit taking it a few months before the last set of labs. LDL will rise in direct proportion to TSH, so as my TSH has climbed, so has my LDL. I'm working on the TSH now, so I suspect my LDL and total will be less next time I check.

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I'm also anxious to see what happens to my numbers, and to see other replies to this question! I've only been doing primal for a month, but have been a vegan for the last 12 years. Obviously I can't help but worry that my cholesterol numbers will go through the roof, even though I've read all the logic about why they shouldn't. :-)

Total Cholesterol: 228 - "Still Bad", but not really changed much since April.Triglycerides: 46 - relatively unchanged and still "good".HDL: 61 - a little lower, but still "good"LDL: 158 - Even higher, and "bad"Chol/HDLC Ratio: 3.7 - "good"

April 2011:

Total Cholesterol: 260 - "Still Bad", and much worse since August 2010.Triglycerides: 38 - down a little and still "good".HDL: 82 - much higher, which is still "good"LDL: 170 - Even higher, and still "bad"Chol/HDLC Ratio: 3.2 - lower and still "good"12/12/11 Results:

Total Cholesterol: 237 - "Still Bad", but better.Triglycerides: 42 - still "good".HDL: 94 - higher, which is still "good"LDL: 135 - significant drop but still "bad". However, it's right near the border since they want it less than 130.Chol/HDLC Ratio: 2.5 - lower and still "good"

“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea” -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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No dairy. Dairy gives me giant, oozing boils and farts like decomposing animals every three minutes for days on end. Even one glass of milk will constipate me for a week, and it can take hours to pass the bloody concrete slab once it makes its way to the end. I can handle a tiny amount of cheese, a little ice cream, raw milk or kefir, but that's about it. And why spend money on stupid raw milk when I can have another three pounds of meat for the same price? So I might have a little cheese once a week or so, but that's about it.

I thank my high fish consumption for my HDL.

Crohn's, doing SCD

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No dairy. Dairy gives me giant, oozing boils and farts like decomposing animals every three minutes for days on end. Even one glass of milk will constipate me for a week, and it can take hours to pass the bloody concrete slab once it makes its way to the end. I can handle a tiny amount of cheese, a little ice cream, raw milk or kefir, but that's about it. And why spend money on stupid raw milk when I can have another three pounds of meat for the same price? So I might have a little cheese once a week or so, but that's about it.

I thank my high fish consumption for my HDL.

Thanks for the info. I seem to tolerate dairy with no obvious problems, but I've never cut it out to see if I can tell any difference. I'm getting my thyroid levels checked and if it's not that, then I'm going to try some serious dietary changes to lower my LDL-P. Doctor already prescribed a statin, but I said that thyroid check was necessary before I even considered that.

I'm a bit worried that my LDL could go through the roof. This anxiety may reflect my bias from residual effects of years of of reading to avoid fats, cholesterol, etc. I would like to see solid lab evidence.

Well, your LDL is likely to go up, but that shouldn't be a problem as long as your HDL goes up as well. And your trigs going down is an indicator of your LDL being the good large puffy type.

It's only really a subset of LDL that you should be worried about.

Last edited by magicmerl; 06-26-2012, 09:23 PM.
Reason: old HDL figure was wrong.

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Question for the thread....Do you all get checked frequently for any particular reason? I mean looking at some of your profiles you seem to be a fairly young group and in good shape. Most of you even state that you understand that your cholesterol provides limited data about health at best.

I really don't think I'll ever have my cholesterol evaluated. If its low I'll eat primal and not take statins.....If its high I'll eat primal and not take statins. Probably helps that I don't employ an MD.

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Sorry in advance for the long post, but this is an extremely timely post for me.

A few weeks back I went to my internist for my annual check-up. Against my better judgment, I had blood drawn for the standard lipid profile. Sure enough, he called a few days later saying he had called in a statin prescription (total 272, LDL 163 calculated, HDL 98, trig 53). I told him no thanks, he said that I’d be sorry.

Following a link from a post on this forum I read through all of Peter Attia’s blog posts on cholesterol. He suggested an NMR Lipoprofile test to directly measure LDL-P. I hate to put words in his mouth, but it seems to me that he believes LDL-P is a good marker for risk. I had blood drawn for that test to give me more info.

I got my results yesterday and am quite frankly pretty freaked out. MY LDL-P is 1611 nmol/L which is in the “High” risk category. Directly measured LDL-C 181, HDL 93, trig 41. These results were about ten days from the standard results and were that different. Tells me how much things can change from day to day.

I’ve been eating “primally” for over two years now. I’m 41, active, lean, strong, have a good sex life, sleep fairly well. I want to believe I’ve been doing the right things for my long term health, but am honestly concerned this may not be the road for me. I have a three y/o daughter who I badly want to see grow up. I’ve never had weight issues; I had been an “endurance” athlete before going Primal and was in “good” shape with a lot of carb loads, chronis cardio etc.

I don’t have exact lipid profiles pre-Primal, but remember the total was under 200 so I never worried any more about the other numbers.

I get my numbers tested somewhat regularly partially out of “habit” and out of curiosity.

My Dad died in February from heart related problems. Not a heart attack, but an irregular heart beat. What is odd is that his cholesterol was through the floor (below 140 total). So I’m really lost and trying to get some confidence in what I should do going forward. He was on med.s for the irregular heart beat, but no statins. I’m sure the meds he was on affected his cholesterol level in some degree.

I tend to eat a lot of grass fed steaks, “cage-free” eggs, bacon, pork sausage, wild caught salmon, salads, avacados, sweet potatoes and other things I consider clean and healthy. I vary occasionally eat corn tortillas when we go out for Tex-Mex, but I’m failry strict on the Primal diet.

I’m to the point of attempting to find ways to lower my LDL-P through diet, staying Primal. I’m not to the point of agreeing to take statins. I’m honestly struggling quite a bit.

Thank you all for sharing your information; I think we can all learn from one another.